I am in the throes of changing my current residential home loan to a Buy to Let Leeds Building Society mortgage. The bank has said that I need a solicitor as part of the process. I spoke to the same Shirley conveyancing practitioner who acted on my behalf when I first purchased the house. The costs illustration they've given of £500 has taken me by surprise as its a refinance than a sale or purchase.
The estimate does seem a tad on the high side. If you you were to look around you might get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by say a hundred pounds. On the other hand, providing that you were happy with the conveyancing the firm gave you maycome to regret opting for an an untested lawyer. Remember to ensure the firm can act for Leeds Building Society. Do make use of our search tool to find a Shirley conveyancing firm on the Leeds Building Society approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Shirley.
If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Shirley what would it be?
We would encourage you not to go for the lowest Shirley conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
Are all Shirley Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from UBS as we want to carry out a loft conversion to our home in Shirley. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Shirley solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
UBS don't usually require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the UBS panel.
The deeds to our property are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Shirley 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be retained by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I have been recommended by a couple of local selling agents in Shirley to select a conveyancer using your seach tool. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to market your services rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to offer any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Shirley for my home move. Is there any facility to see a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
You can find presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training requirements.
My mortgage broker has suggested using their solicitor for my conveyancing in Shirley - Is it not simpler advisable to just instruct them?
It is not always the case and you are entitled to use whichever conveyancing practitioner you decide for your Shirley conveyancing. The conveyancer recommended by an estate agent may not necessarily be the best lawyer, they may put forward their preferred conveyancing firm who are based far away. In this instance you may not have contact with your conveyancing practitioner and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain updates.